American Protestants and Catholics in the Early National and Antebellum Era
Study Grant Proposal
Sam Tullock, Professor of HistoryAmerican historians of religion sharply disagree on the role that Christianity played in shaping the contours of U.S. history between the War for Independence and the Civil War. Conservative Protestants see this as an era in which Evangelical Christianity served as the foundational underpinning of the society. David Barton, for instance, believes that Protestant impulses informed and motivated the Founding Fathers to create a national religious consciousness that permeated both the political and social institutions of the country. He goes on to suggest that revisionist historians, in more recent times, have recast the historical record in order to buttress a liberal political agenda. Other historians have suggested that the historical materials indicate a less monolithic religious orientation of the country in this period. Nathan Hatch has suggested that the religious landscape was much more diverse and heterodox than Barton’s model. The “democratization” process reshaped the way Americans thought about religion, and paved the way for a broad array of new movements to emerge, movements that did not fit the mold of traditional Protestantism. I will use this study grant to explore these divergent views of the American experience.
Many current controversies have roots in this period. First Amendment issues, for instance, continue to fuel considerable contemporary debate. The principle of “separation of church and state” is a prominent example of these continued controversies. Thomas Jefferson’s personal correspondence with Baptist leaders forms the vortex of this disagreement. I want to explore the Baptist movement during the early National Period. How did the Baptists reflect the “democratization” process that Hatch describes? Did Baptists, unyielding advocates of religious liberty, equate non-establishment with secularization?
Another area of interest centers on the rise of sectarian movements in this era. I have particular interest in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Shakers, the Millerites, and the Utopian groups. These movements clearly drew from significant Protestant influences, but they diverged from those impulses in important ways. This study grant will allow me to examine the societal environment that made these movements possible.
European immigration also played an important role in the development of the American religious experience. I would like to study, in particular, the arrival of the German Pietistic groups and the Irish Catholics. The study grant will focus on the Lutherans, the Dutch Reform, and the Irish Catholic movements in America.
Finally, I want to study the groups that shaped mainline Protestant thought during this period. The “Princeton Tradition” holds particular interest for me. These protectors of Calvinistic orthodoxy were, in many ways, the heirs of the Puritans; however, they certainly made unique contributions to American religious experience that moved beyond Puritan ideology. For instance, some historians believe that the Princetonians were the progenitors of the inerrancy debate that has divided Presbyterian and Baptist groups in the Twentieth Century. Several theologians and historians have recently written on the Princeton Tradition, and I want to explore their arguments.
Reading Schedule:
Weeks 1-3 (May 15-June 4): Overview of the Period: I will begin with a work by E. Brooks Holifield, Theology in America: Christian Thought from the Age of the Puritans to the Civil War. This highly acclaimed book oversteps the boundaries of my particular interests for this project; nevertheless, it should provide a very helpful survey of the religious landscape of early American history. Also, Nathan Hatch’s The Democratization of American Christianity, will help focus the study on the particular era emphasized in this study grant. I have read portions of Hatch’s work, but I look forward to surveying the entire book. Finally, during these initial weeks of study, I will read David Barton’s Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution, and Religion. As stated above, Barton argues that the Founders were decidedly Christian, Protestant, and Evangelical in their convictions, and this Christian orientation influenced their conceptions about the government of nations.
Weeks 4-6 (June 5-25): During these weeks I want to re-examine the history of the Baptists. In particular, I will focus on Isaac Backus, Richard Furman, and Frances Wayland. Backus and Wayland were Northern Baptists and Furman ministered in South Carolina. Decidedly Calvinistic, these men shaped the Baptist movement during their generation. Specifically, they argued persuasively for the separation of church and state. I will read the Journals of Isaac Backus (three volumes), Richard Furman: Life and Works, and Notes on the Principles and Practices of Baptist Churches.
Weeks 7-9 (June 26-July 16): The sectarian movements fascinate me, but I have only a modest mastery of this topic. In the aftermath of the Second Great Awakening a host of new groups emerged, but I will limit my study to the Mormons, Millerites, and the Utopians. Because I have only a partial knowledge of this topic, the study needs to focus on general survey materials; therefore, I will read Jan Shipps’ Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition, Laurence Moore’s Religious Outsiders and the Making of Americans. In addition, I hope to read The Disappointed: Millerism and Millenarianism in the Nineteenth Century, by Ronald Numbers and Jonathan Butler.
Weeks 10-12 (July 17-August 6): The influence of immigrant populations on American religion is, of course, quite significant. This portion of the study grant will examine two of these groups: Irish Catholics and German Pietists. I plan to read Jay Dolan’s The Immigrant Church: New York’s Irish and German Catholics and Paul Kuenning’s The Rise and Fall of American Lutheran Pietism.
Weeks 13-15 (August 7-26): Finally, I want to consider the resurgence of orthodox Calvinism in the Antebellum Period. These readings will center on the growth of the Southern Baptists and the Princetonians. These books will provide a useful foundation for my studies: Iain Murray’s Revival and Revivalism: The Making and Marring of American Evangelicalism, 1750-1858, David Callhoun’s Princeton Theologians, and Baptist Theologians, by David Dockery and Timothy George.
I have no doubt that this study will enhance my course work at Collin County Community College. Many of my religious studies have concentrated on the Colonial Era and the Twentieth-century, and I have every confidence this work will fill in some significant “blank spots” for me.